Chris Harrison may be the host of all things Bachelor, but he's also just a man who still gets uncomfortable in uncomfortable situations.
This week's Bachelor finale was one of those situations, as Peter Weber's mother Barb decided the live after show was the right time and place to unleash all her thoughts about Madison Prewett, the woman for whom Peter ended his engagement to Hannah Ann Sluss.
"It was the most awkward moment I've had in television, and I've had some really awkward moments," Chris told us on Wednesday, ahead of the launch party for his Seagram's Tropical Escapes Rosé. "But I was so uncomfortable, because it has to do with family and family is something I kind of cherish and hold tight and I know Peter does too, so I know how heartbreaking it was. It was really really uncomfortable in like a really sad way."
Chris says he has "never," in all his years of doing this show, dealt with a family taking such a stand like this.
"I mean look, everyone has their opinions and has their say, but I've never had it like so strong on live TV and in front of everybody," he said. "It was just like it was a time and place, you know there's time and place for everything I just that was. Look, I'm not saying Barb's right or wrong, but even if she's dead right, it's just...was the timing right?"
Barb claimed that some of her opinions on Madison were based on things the audience didn't get to see, like how Madison made the family wait for three hours and said she wasn't in love with Peter. While Chris acknowledges that the show can't show everything that happened, he thinks that what we did see was an accurate picture of what was happening.
"I think you've had a very real true depiction of everybody's path and everybody's story," he said. "I mean I think looking at it back and watching it and having lived it myself, I don't feel like anybody was put in a bad light or, or any, any false light. I think everybody...you get a really accurate depiction."
It also wasn't just Barb's words that really made an impact during that finale. She was often shown on a little screen in the corner, reacting in real time to footage of Peter's conversations with Hannah Ann and Madison. Hannah Ann got claps and cheers, and Madison got eye rolls. Chris says he didn't even know about the little screen during the show, but all of these clear issues within the family just makes Chris root for Peter and Madison more.
"Now I hope they do. Now I really hope they do," he said. "Now it's like I hope they fight all the odds and battle through it."
But does he really think they have a chance at a future?
"Hey as good as anybody right? I mean I'm team Peter, like why not?" he says. "Here's the thing: Is it easy to get on social media and say they're gonna break up? Of course it is. Of course you can say that about your neighbors. They're probably going to get divorced because more than 50% of people get divorced, so why not root for them? What the hell, why not just say, let's give it a shot. It's easy to tear people down, and it's a lot harder to just wait and see what happens. And do you need to be the a-hole that says I told you so. Like, what do you get from that? Great, you can beat the kid up later. Give them a chance."
The Bachelor airs on ABC.